ABSTRACT
Preface to Posthumous Poems of Percy Bysshe Shelley (London: John and Henry L. Hunt, 1824); ‘Memoirs of William Godwin’, in William Godwin, Caleb Williams (5th edn, London: Colburn & Bentley, 1831); Preface and Notes to The Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley, 4 vols (London: Edward Moxon, 1839); Preface to Essays, Letters from Abroad, Translations and Fragments, by Percy Bysshe Shelley (London: Edward Moxon, 1840 [for 1839]). The present texts are based on the first edition to appear in Mary Shelley’s lifetime. A guide to the principles of textual treatment will be found in volume 1 of this edition. There are two further points which bear on the presentation of these items. First, since Mary Shelley’s selection and arrangement of P. B. Shelley’s works are central to her editorial achievement, the list of contents of each edition has been included in the main text. Second, in the case of the Preface and Notes to Poetical Works, and the Preface to Essays, Letters from Abroad, substantive variants from the second edition (1840 [for 1839] and 1845 respectively) are provided in an Appendix, along with the changes made to the third edition of The Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley, 3 vols (London: Edward Moxon, 1847). The minor changes made to the 1824 Preface when it was reprinted in Poetical Works are also listed.
